Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” is catchy as hell and that knowledge isn’t lost on Carrie Underwood, who gave the song a Nashville twist in at the Big Barrel Country Music Festival on Sunday. Cue the twangy guitars! »6/30/15 11:10am 6/30/15 11:10am

It’s 85 degrees out as dusk lowers itself onto downtown Nashville. A breeze slowly wends its way through the crowd, roaming around the hordes of young women in short-shorts, every article of clothing possible covered in fringe, perfectly curled hair rolling down their backs, blindingly white grins open wide as they… »6/29/15 11:10am 6/29/15 11:10am

Titled like a nod to Salinger or a year-end anthology, Brandy Clark’s debut album 12 Stories begins with a promise, as well as a reminder of what country music has always claimed, and lately, often, failed, to do. It’s stories, not anecdotes, not scenarios, not atmosphere that drives the genre—but real stories, rife… »6/14/15 8:32pm 6/14/15 8:32pm

The most specific cheers at Brooke Hogan’s performance Friday afternoon at the Hard Rock Cafe stage at CMA Fest in Nashville, it must be said, were for Josh, her guitarist, who had several fans (family members) in the crowd waving signs for him.»6/13/15 11:15am 6/13/15 11:15am

Sam Hunt, the former college football player turned country hit-maker responsible for love-lorn, hip-hop infused tracks, has been compared to Drake before, in a way that perhaps reveals the mainstream music press’s biases a little too clearly. (They’ve been particularly linked after Hunt covered “Marvin’s Room” in… »6/12/15 2:30pm 6/12/15 2:30pm

Randy Howard was an early ‘80s country star who toured with the likes of Willie Nelson and released novelty numbers like “All American Redneck” (“He’s got a pick-up truck/he loves to fuck”) and “My Nose Don’t Work No More” which is, obviously, about snorting too much cocaine. Unfortunately, like all the best country… »6/11/15 11:30pm 6/11/15 11:30pm

Country Aircheck Weekly is a trade publication devoted to country radio news, not exactly a popular read for most households. But their latest issue has drawn the attention of star Martina McBride because of an interview with music consultant Keith Hill, who said if country music is a salad, men are the lettuce and… »5/28/15 12:45pm 5/28/15 12:45pm

RaeLynn, the artist behind “God Made Girls” (and a former The Voice contestant) is back, and her latest song is full of just as many boring assumptions about the differences between men and women as the last. It’s aptly titled “For A Boy” (subtitle “You Sure Are Sensitive!” not included). »5/11/15 7:00pm 5/11/15 7:00pm

In December, the band Little Big Town released "Girl Crush," the second single off their album Pain Killer. The track title wasn't exactly going to endear it to those who chafe at the term "girl crush." But the song's subject matter has also alienated the very people who should love it, because it flirts with… »3/26/15 4:50pm 3/26/15 4:50pm

Miley Cyrus's musical and literal roots are in country/rock music (ahem, godmother Dolly Parton and dad Billy Rae Cyrus), so it wasn't much of a surprise to see her cover Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" during SNL's 40th anniversary special this weekend. But the degree to which she killed it, displaying… »2/17/15 6:10pm 2/17/15 6:10pm

Currently climbing the charts on iTunes: "God Made Girls," a new single from 2012 Voice contestant RaeLynn. It's perhaps a sign Pinterest has achieved sentience and is now producing country pop songs. Rayna James would not approve. »8/20/14 1:40pm 8/20/14 1:40pm

Though there's been newfoundattentionpaid to whether country music's female artists are getting their due, it's been hard to tell whether the industry is reacting accordingly. Well, now it looks like a small portion of it is: SiriusXM plans to actually play more records by women on its airwaves – at least for this… »8/11/14 5:20pm 8/11/14 5:20pm

Earlier this year, country artist Kira Isabella released "Quarterback," a radio friendly country song that takes some tired modern tropes of pop country — a nerdy freshman girl who plays trumpet in the marching band pining after the quarterback she never thought would notice her — and turns them on their head when… »8/02/14 2:15pm 8/02/14 2:15pm

Over the weekend, a 17-year-old girl attending a rowdy Keith Urban concert outside of Boston broke away from her friends with a man she'd just met. Minutes later, the man was sexually assaulting her out in the open as more than a dozen passersby watched, with some even taking cell phone videos. »7/30/14 5:40pm 7/30/14 5:40pm

Quickly capitalizing off the success of "Girl In A Country Song", country duo newcomers Maddie & Tae have released the video for their "groundbreaking" new pop song. As they promised, the video is a play on the country music videos their song lambasts: Maddie & Tae have switched things up and put some dudes in "… »7/28/14 11:50am 7/28/14 11:50am

This year's Country Music Award nominees were announced on Tuesday, and, if a person were to judge the state of country music from the list — dominated by the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift — they'd probably think that maybe these women were getting country stations to play their damn… »9/11/13 5:50pm 9/11/13 5:50pm

She's 24. She's low-key. She's from Sulphur Springs, Texas. She used to yodel. She sings about regular women and their regular concerns and feelings, and yet, in its own quiet, catchy way, something about her work feels utterly revolutionary. Maybe it's that the songs on Same Trailer Different Park feel notably… »3/13/13 6:30pm 3/13/13 6:30pm